What's this post supposed to be about?

I’ve never really known how to say good-bye, because I’ve never experienced an ending that is truly the end. Every event in my life has ended with the promise of a continuation or an evolution. For example, at the end of the school year in kindergarten, our teacher handed out little booklets that we could write our names and phone numbers in to keep in touch with each other over the summer. This meant that even though we were leaving our classroom and the simplicity of kindergarten, we would be comforted by the presence of our old friends when we moved on to the first grade. It was then that I realized that endings are all in how you treat them.

In the weeks leading up to Grand Assembly, many people asked me how I felt and I wasn’t completely sure how to respond. The same thing happened in the days leading up to it, and even the hours beforehand.

Then it happened.

Our beautiful, wonderful Grand Assembly happened. It struck me before the Grand Officers entered, while I was standing behind that giant anchor atop the staircase, that for some in attendance it was their first time seeing a Grand Assembly. For others, it was the last time they would be a part of one as an active member. This made the experience all the more valuable, because I knew that so many others had been looking forward to the day, not just myself and the Grand Officers.

Friday and Saturday went by faster than any of us could have imagined. We watched as our fellow sisters took to the floor, performed their ritual, and glided along as if they had been walking in gowns, crowns, and high heels their entire lives. It was a display that captured all the glory of our organization, and really showed why we work as hard as we do. The Grand Officers quickly fell in to a comfortable rhythm, a sort of controlled chaos, in which there were so many moving parts of the weekend that somehow managed to work together.

Then it was over, almost as suddenly as it had begun.

On Saturday night, the 2015-2016 Grand Officers entered together for the last time. Luckily, none of us acted like it was the last time. If you were to have watched us line up, you would have seen the same giddy, energetic group of girls that took office last June. We focused not on the fact that we would be exiting our offices, but instead on the fact that we had one last opportunity to have fun together, which made all the difference.

As we retired our jewels, I fully expected to be hit with feelings of sadness at the end of the year. However, as I looked around at all of my friends and those who had supported my officers and myself throughout the year, I felt more appreciation than anything else. I felt appreciation for a group of people who had committed themselves to embracing our theme. I felt appreciation for a group of girls who had come together to make our beautiful Grand Assembly possible. Last, but by no means least, I felt appreciation for the opportunity I had had over the past year to serve as Grand Worthy Advisor.

I have been out of office for about a week now, and the best feeling that I have had so far has been watching the new Grand Officers travel to other Grand Assemblies and represent Massachusetts. The work that they will do from this point on is what I consider to be my legacy, and from what I have seen, it is certainly a legacy of which I am proud.

Thanks for a great year everyone.       

    

Time to embrace the warm weather with some honey dew iced tea and the new theme with a tiger mug!